Near-peer teaching of laparoscopic skills among medical students: a randomised feasibility study

TL;DR

A study found that medical students who learned laparoscopic surgery from peers performed better than those who learned alone.

Contribution

This is the first study to show that peer-led laparoscopic training improves student performance compared to self-directed learning.

Findings

Peer-taught students outperformed self-taught students in specific laparoscopic tasks.

A new assessment tool effectively measured performance changes before and after training.

Confidence and skill improved significantly in both groups after the intervention.

Abstract

Laparoscopic surgery is integral to modern surgical practice. However, many medical students graduate with limited exposure to essential skills. Near-peer teaching is a promising, student-led approach to address this gap, though its objective impact remains under-evaluated. The aims of this study were to develop a novel objective assessment tool, assess changes in students’ confidence and objective performance in laparoscopic tasks following near-peer versus self-directed training, and explore factors associated with performance.

This single-blinded, randomised feasibility study enrolled 42 medical students without prior laparoscopic experience. Participants were randomly assigned to near-peer (Group 1) or self-taught group (Group 2) and completed six weekly sessions across four laparoscopic stations: Ball Transfer, Circle Cutting, Peg Transfer, and String. Performance was scored using a novel objective assessment tool developed through a Modified Delphi Method. Two blinded surgical trainees assessed all performances.

No significant differences were observed in pre-intervention objective performance between groups, except for the “Peg Transfer” station. Post-intervention, both groups improved significantly across all tasks (p < 0.001). Their confidence also improved (p < 0.001). The peer-taught group outperformed the self-directed group in “Circle Cutting” (p = 0.02), “String” (p = 0.01), and “Peg Transfer” station (p = 0.04). There was no relationship between age, gender, or video game experience and performance.

This is the first study to demonstrate that near-peer teaching of laparoscopic skills improved laparoscopic performance among medical students compared with a control group. These findings support the integration of near-peer laparoscopic teaching into undergraduate surgical education. The novel assessment tool demonstrated sensitivity to change in performance pre- and post-intervention.

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